I’m pretty quiet most of the time. If I’m not reading, I’m writing, and if I’m not writing, I’m reading.
I get paid to spend my days and most evenings translating and editing documents, taking on the odd copywriting job as required—yes, this is my dream job. Slow day? Then I’m writing blog articles or yet another query letter for my manuscript.
I’m always reading something, ideally an awesome novel, but you can also find me reading ads, manuals, newspapers, labels or packaging. This is how I learned English, Spanish and Portuguese, by the way—constantly reading and trying to make sense of messages is a great way to improve vocabulary, grammar and spelling.
In normal-life-Ottawa, I don’t have a lot of time and energy left at the end of the day for literary fiction. I typically relax reading longform journalism, online discussions or whatever I bookmarked for later in Pocket because it piqued my curiosity at some point.
Reading books is a priority again when I’m on the road. It’s integral to the travelling experience—I voraciously read fiction and non-fiction in buses, trains, planes, taxis stuck in traffic jams, and mostly safely tucked in bed wherever I stopped for the night.
And I take these moments and book picks very seriously.
I used to pack only two paperbacks because well, books are heavy. It led to heartbreaking decisions and terrible mistakes. I took On the Road to Mexico, but I had read it so many times before I was kind of tired of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty. I brought one of Victor Hugo’s poetry collection to Hong Kong and I don’t even know why, because I don’t like poetry. I packed The Lord of the Rings for New Zealand because I thought the epic 1178 pages adventure would keep me entertained for at least two months, but once in Auckland I discovered I had to decipher thousands of footnotes and Elvish languages—I didn’t speak much English back then, so I wasn’t sure whether half of the words were made up or just not part of my vocabulary yet.
Fortunately, there were book exchanges back then. Not familiar with the concept? Travellers hate lugging around more than they need, so when they’re done with a book, they usually leave it for others to enjoy. There was always a shelf or a box of books and magazine to pick up for free—and by the way, there’s nothing more frustrating than stumbling upon the latest bestseller you really wanted to read when it’s the Swedish or Japanese edition.
I bought a Kindle in 2010, so now, I always “carry” hundreds of books—the problem is my reading list because if I don’t have one, I can spend hours trying to decide what I feel like reading.
The world in all its beauty and complexities hits you in the face when you’re on the road. Reading helps me relax, refocus and digest travel experience. In a way, I’m hitting the pause button to put things into perspective until the next day.
And this is probably why making a reading list and picking the right books is harder than it seems.
What I need, what makes me turn pages, depends on my environment and mindset.
Typically, I’m drawn to two kinds of books—stories with great characters I get to know and understand, and mysteries full of twists where I’m trying to guess how it will all end.
Then it gets complicated—and I get picky.
I don’ feel like reading horror or scary stories when I’m alone in a creepy place. I don’t want to read drama involving kids if Mark isn’t deeply asleep a few steps away. I find I can’t get into super American stories—think John Grisham’s legal thrillers—when I’m not in North America. And anecdotally, when I was in Chile in March 2020, I started a great book called “Seven Days of Us” by Francesca Hornak, the story of a family forced to spend seven days in quarantine. Yeah, stopped halfway through, just when the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and I was wondering if I would be able to come back to Canada.
I’m always discovering new authors but I have a list of amazing writers I’d follow anywhere because they have a unique way to tell stories and they never disappoint me. I get excited whenever Marian Keyes, Jennifer Weiner, Liane Moriarty, Lisa Gardner or Karin Slaughter publishes a new book. I like Cath Staincliffe series (and she’s a lovely person too!), Ruth Ware and Clare Mackintosh… among many others.
Then it’s a matter of finding the right story for the right moment… and letting the magic happen.
More on Cabo Frio later. Tonight, I need a good book and some rest.
